Art Caws
Mobile App Design
Role: UX designer designing an app for art galleries from conception to purchasing.
Responsibilities: Conducting interviews, paper and digital
wireframing, low and high-fidelity prototyping,
conducting usability studies, accounting for
accessibility, and iterating on designs.
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Company Overview: Art Caws is an online platform allowing customers to buy art from virtual art auctions or local art galleries. Art Caws strives to provide an easy and more inclusive way for enthusiasts to obtain unique art pieces without stepping foot in an art gallery.
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The Challenge
Many brick-and-mortar art galleries have limited operating hours or are by appointment only. Special events such as art auctions are even more difficult for busy workers to attend, and a dress code is often enforced upon entry.
The Goal
Design an art auction app that allows users to bid and buy art from art galleries easily.
UNDERSTANDING THE USER
I conducted interviews and created empathy maps to understand the users I was designing for and their needs. A primary user group identified through research was working adults who didn’t have time to attend an art gallery event. This user group confirmed that many shared negative assumptions about art galleries and art auctions. However, this user group also indicated they were more than willing to purchase art from someone they knew or in a less formal setting. An art auction app would resolve the time and socioeconomic status-related anxiety issues of not feeling “wealthy enough” to go inside an art gallery. Having an art auction app would help make purchasing art a more inclusive experience for those interested.
User research: pain points
1
Time
Working adults are too busy to buy art from an art gallery.
2
Socioeconomic status
Fear of not appearing wealthy enough to go inside of an art gallery.
3
Emotional connection
Those interest in purchasing art want to know the artist’s story and how the art was created.
STARTING THE DESIGN
Taking the time to draft iterations of each screen of the app on paper ensured that the elements that made it to digital wireframes would be well-suited to address user pain points. For the home screen, I prioritized a quick and easy way to join a virtual art auction or buy art to help users save time.
As the initial design phase continued, I made sure to base screen designs on feedback and findings from user research. Shop, Explore, Favorites, and Profile were important features for users to always have access to on the app. It was also important for the users to have the option to shop for art already assigned a price and a “buy now” call to action button.
Using the completed set of digital wireframes, I created a low-fidelity prototype. The primary user flow I connected with was bidding and buying art to use the prototype in a usability study with users.
I conducted a moderated Usability Study for the first round with five participants. Findings from the first study helped guide the designs, from wireframes to mockups.
Findings from the moderated usability study
1
Users need better cues for what steps are required to place a bid on an art piece.
2
Users need a more intuitive way to access and review items in their cart.
3
Users need a more intuitive way to enter their location.
I used the findings from the first round of the usability study to improve the digital wireframe designs. View Art Auction App: UPDATED low-fidelity prototype
REFINING THE DESIGN
After the moderated usability studies, I added place a bid, bid confirmation, bid countdown screens, and call to action buttons to better cue the steps required to place a bid on an art piece.
Before usability study
After usability study
Key mockups
The high-fidelity prototype connected the primary user flow of bidding on art, so the prototype could be used in a usability study with users. View Art Auction App:High-fidelity prototype
I conducted an unmoderated usability study for the second round with five new participants. The second study used a high-fidelity prototype and revealed what aspects of the mockups needed refining.
Findings from the unmoderated usability study
1
Users need to be able to zoom in on the art pieces.
2
Users need a way to be able to customize their bids.
3
Users need a progress bar to let them know where they are at in the process of the “bid on art” user flow.
The second round of usability studies revealed frustration with making and submitting art bids. After the usability studies, I revised the design so users can customize their bid amount, and I added a progress bar so they know when they have completed the bidding process.
Before usability study
After usability study
The final high-fidelity prototype presented cleaner user flows for bidding on art from various art galleries. It also meets user needs for zooming in on art pieces, customizing bids, and knowing that the bidding process is completed. View Art Auction App: UPDATED high-fidelity prototype.
Accessibility considerations
1
Optimized color contrasts to make it easier for those with bad vision to distinguish what they’re reading or looking at.
2
Offer the ability to zoom in on the app's text, buttons, or graphics to make things easier to read.
3
Use icons to help make navigation easier and a progress bar.
GOING FORWARD
The Art Caws app helps to remove physical and socioeconomic barriers for art enthusiasts that want to purchase unique one-of-a-kind art pieces, all while still supporting ma & pa art galleries. While designing the Art Caws app, I learned that the first ideas for the app are only the beginning of the process. Usability studies and peer feedback influenced each iteration of the app’s designs.
NEXT STEPS
1
Develop and design additional screens that allow the featured artists in the app to share their story and how they created specific art pieces in order to promote a better emotional connection with the buyers.
2
Conduct another round of usability studies to validate whether the pain points users experienced have been effectively addressed.
3
Conduct more user research to determine any new areas of need.
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